Weather Cited For Closings Of Outdoor Cafe

The weather has been blamed for the frequent closings of Allentown's outdoor cafe project, initiated by the Downtown Improvement District Authority.

The frequent cancellations were a key point of discussion by the authority yesterday, when the weather forced yet another cancellation.

The outdoor cafe, set up in the city's Center Square and offering varied luncheon menus provided by several participating downtown restaurants, is scheduled to run every Tuesday and Wednesday from May 5 through the summer months.

The debut was washed out, pushing the starting date to May 6. Since then, weather conditions have forced cancellation of the outdoor cafe five of the eight scheduled dates, including yesterday, when the billboard sign went up again proclaiming to all: "Outdoor Cafe Closed."

The limited experience, however, "has been very successful," Paula Krajsa told authority members.

Krajsa, the staffer handling promotion of the event, said, "The outdoor cafe has done a good job of getting people out of the offices."

Joseph Kacmar, manager of Robata of Toyko, said, "For us, this is great because it is bringing people to us and introducing us to them. We have sold out every time."

Dee Erickson of Hamilton Plaza, which operates an ice cream concession in the square, said, "This is providing more exposure for us, and we're having a good time and are pleased to be involved."

The restaurateurs said that the authority's 8 a.m. cancellation was too early. They felt a decision to cancel the outdoor cafe for a day should be held off until 9:30 a.m. Iannelli agreed.

The restaurateurs had mixed feelings about opening the cafe on alternate days to make up for cancellations.

In other business, Don Dilorenzo, authority chairman, announced that the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority received two bids to furnish a downtown trolley-bus. The project will be financed with an 80 percent grant from the federal Urban Mass Transportation Administration and a 20 percent local share.

LANTA estimated the cost would run about $90,000, with $72,000 to be secured from transportation administration and the local share offered in a grant from The Morning Call.